


Expressions of Romance

by Anubis (fatiguedmona)



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Confessions, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-03 21:05:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19472185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatiguedmona/pseuds/Anubis
Summary: Ryuji has quite the admiration for his best friend, Akira, even if that admiration transcends the boundaries of friendship. Staying silent has always been a weakness for Ryuji and he decides it was time to seek advice from unexpected candidate.





	Expressions of Romance

The Phantom Thieves dispersed after returning from the Metaverse. Okumura’s palace proved to be challenging, and they were all eager to head home. They split up in groups: Futaba, Akira, and Morgana walking back towards LeBlanc, with Ann, Makoto, and Haru going towards the train station. That left two unlikely friends, Ryuji and Yusuke. Normally, they would join the others, but not today. Once the rest of the thieves were out of earshot, Yusuke turned to Ryuji and said, “You’d like to speak with me?”

“Ugh, yeah. Here...let’s go get some beef bowls and we can talk there. Don’t worry, it’ll be on me.”

~~~~~

“To be frank, I can’t possibly imagine what you’d like to talk to me about privately ...but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued,” Yusuke said while pushing away his empty bowl.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you...but I appreciate you coming to listen to me. I didn’t know who else to go to,” Ryuji said looking down.

“Ah, I see. As they say, I’m all ears.” Yusuke said as Ryuji sat forward.

“Uh, thanks, man. So...I’ve been having some troubles lately. Well actually, it’s been going on way longer than that. It’s just...I like someone and I have no idea what to do! Like, at all!” he quickly said before he could regret it. Yusuke pondered silently for a moment.

“Although I feel honored that you have confided in me, I must say, isn’t Ann a better person to ask? I am not well versed in the world of romance, yet she seems to be a wealth of information. Why did you come to me?” Yusuke said his words carefully, as he didn’t want to give off the wrong impression.

“That’s the thing, man. I’ve known Ann for years and I know that, yeah, she’d probably know what she was talking about but...I don’t know, it’s complicated. It’s not that I don’t trust her or anything, but I guess I feel more comfortable talking to another dude? I don’t know.” He sighed.

“Well then, thank you for your trust in me. But I suppose I must ask: who exactly do you like, Ryuji?” Yusuke talked quietly in an attempt to be delicate with his words, but Ryuji still buried his face in his hands and groaned.

“That’s the hard part! I-I-!” he took a deep breath. “The person I like...they’re not a normal crush, for me.” He was blushing furiously. He had trouble bringing himself to say anything else at the moment.

“Ryuji?”

“...”

“Would it help if I told you who I like?” Yusuke suggested.

“Uh, I guess?”

“Well, I’m not currently interested in anyone, but when I am I will be sure to tell you!” Yusuke smiled widely.

Ryuji sighed. This is way harder than I thought it would be, he thought. As he opened his mouth to come clean, his phone went off. Picking it up, he gawked at the message he was sent.

**Futaba:** jesus christ ryuji! You’re killing me here! Just say it already, dammit!

“Futaba…?” Another message.

**Futaba:** Akira’s phone wasn’t the only one I bugged, y’know. Now spill it!

Ryuji sighed and stuffed his phone back in his pocket, hoping she wouldn’t be able to hear him that way. When he looked up, he saw Yusuke gawking at him.

“You like Futaba?” Ryuji had never heard him seem so genuinely surprised, with his eyes wide and his face scrunched up in concentration.

“What the hell…? Hell no, man! That ain’t what I meant. Futaba apparently bugged my phone so she was tryin’ to get me to say it.”

“I see.” Yusuke he seemed relieved as he sat forward. “Now then, who is this mystery girl?” Ryuji couldn’t help but cringe at his choice of words.

“…Well...” he stared at the table as he could feel Yusuke’s eyes boring into him, an interesting mix of concern and curiosity. “I-I like Akira!” he quickly spat out.  
A heavy silence grew between them and Ryuji kept his eyes glued to the table, not wanting to see his friend’s face. As the silence grew too painful for him to bear, he looked up and his expectations were shattered. He expected a look of disgust, anger, or discomfort on Yusuke’s face. But instead, his friend stared at the table, looking as though he was putting together the world’s hardest puzzle.

“So then,” Yusuke finally spoke, “your constant lust for women was but a red herring?” The confusion was evident in his voice.

“Dude no? I still like chicks, in fact I only like chicks!” Yusuke pondered for a moment.

“But...Ryuji...Akira is not a girl? Therefore, you cannot-” He sat up, his eyes wide in surprise and looking quite perplexed. “No, don’t tell me! Have I been mistaken all this time? Oh dear...this is bad. I have been wrong this whole time and not one of you thought to tell me? How could I be so blind…? This is quite humiliating, I must go apologize to Akira at once! How rude of me…”

“Nah, Yusuke, that’s not it,” as Ryuji said this, his phone went off.

**Futaba:** tell Inari he’s stupid

“Did you hear everything??” Ryuji nearly yelled.

**Futaba:** how dense are you??? putting your phone in your pocket ain’t gonna do shit

**Futaba:** BUT it is cute that you like akira hehehe

Ryuji groaned and shoved it back in his pocket (not that that would do anything). “No, Yusuke, Akira ain’t a girl. He’s the only guy I’ve ever liked before. That’s why this is a problem!” Yusuke relaxed.

“Oh good. That saved me from quite the humiliation. But how are you so sure that this is romantic? Perhaps you just see him as a good friend.”

“Trust me, man, I can tell. There are certain things you don’t think about your friends. There are, like, romantic stuff you can think, y’know?”

**Futaba:** please god don’t elaborate. I really don’t want to hear about whatever weird sexual fantasies you have about akira. I don’t care if you have them but keep those things to yourself!

“I didn’t mean that kinda stuff!” Ryuji said.

**Futaba:** suuuuuuure you didn’t

Putting his phone away, he looked at Yusuke. “Look man, I know how I feel. I haven’t made too many friends over the years, but I can tell when I like someone more than just that, y’know?” Yusuke leaned forward.

“I’m sorry, Ryuji but I don’t have much advice to give besides suggesting you confess to him.” Ryuji sighed.

“Yeah, I know. But...what if he doesn’t feel the same way? Or what if he gets mad? What if...what if I ruin our friendship? I mean, Akira’s my best friend and...and I can’t imagine losing him. Especially over something like this.” Yusuke folded his hands on the table and took a deep breath.

“Ryuji, when I first became friends with you all, I was astonished. I had never met such nice and caring people, especially someone like Akira. Not only did you all save me and gave me a place to belong, but he has helped these past few months more than I can ever thank him for. Never before had I gone through such a rough patch of artist’s block, and he single handedly pulled me out of it. Although these past months have been my brightest and happiest days, they have also been my darkest. I now have friends and a place where not only can I continue my pursuit in art, but also can help others. But I also lost the man I saw as my father, and I faced the truth about my mother.

“But throughout it all, Akira has helped me. He has been my rock and my support since the day we defeated Madarame. Again, I cannot even begin to thank him enough for all of it. But what I mean to say, Ryuji, is that though I’ve known him for a short amount of time, I know Akira. And I know that he is the most caring and understanding person I have ever met. And if he has done for you what he has done for me, the great lengths he has gone to help his friends, then I think you know that too. He has risked his life for us time after time. I cannot even fathom a universe in which he would turn his back on you for this. Although it may hurt, if he doesn’t like you back, I can assure you that it will not be the end of your friendship with him. He loves you, Ryuji; he loves all of us. Akira would never do such a thing, nor would he be mad with you for it.” Ryuji looked at the ground as he fought back tears. His pocket vibrated.

**Futaba:** I owe my life to you all, but to Akira the most. Without him, even if you still stole my heart, I wouldn’t be this far. He’s helped me every step I’ve taken since he saved me and I can’t imagine going anywhere without him.

**Futaba:** I know you’re scared, Ryuji, but I want you to know that it’s okay. Because no matter what happens, Akira won’t turn his back on you. I promise.  
Ryuji wiped his tears away with the back of his hand.

“Yeah...you’re right. You’re both so right. Thanks guys,” he said quietly.

“It’s my pleasure, Ryuji,” Yusuke said, “Now, would you like some assistance in planning a designated time and date to talk to him?”

~~~~~

Yusuke and Futaba convinced Ryuji to confess whenever he felt it was the right time, but it never seemed to come along, or he hadn’t the courage to do it. Since the day at the beef bowl shop, Ryuji found every moment that he was alone with Akira to be agonizing as he could never muster up the courage to tell him. Weeks passed with him chickening out of every opportunity to say something. Futaba didn’t help much either, she somehow always knew when the two were alone and would send what she thought to be encouraging texts, but in reality, they usually served to be the catalyst for Ryuji remaining silent. Finally, he decided to tell the rest of the thieves, and together they decided for him to do it on the night of the school festival. It was mainly Ann’s idea, she said something about it being romantic, and the rest of them just agreed as they didn’t have any better ideas. Unfortunately, none of them anticipated for the festival to be so stressful. All of them were clearly on edge after having that little “meeting” with Akechi, and Ryuji started to doubt if it was still a good idea to do it today, especially with how much pressure Akira was under. Apparently he wore his emotions on his sleeve as he got reassuring nods from all his friends and he decided to go along with it anyway, hoping the stress of everything didn’t get to Akira too much.

At first, he was worried about doing it all alone, but then he remembered that Futaba would be, of course, listening in on the whole thing. Somehow, that made him feel a bit better (although he would never admit that to her). But as he climbed the stairs to the school rooftop to meet Akira, he felt as if his heart was going to explode. With his hand on the door, he could hear his heart pounding in his head. A buzz came from his pocket.

**Futaba:** you can do it!

**Futaba:** act like a phantom thief and steal his heart!

Ryuji sighed, although he would be lying if he said that Futaba’s goofy texts didn’t lessen his anxiety ever so slightly. Pushing the door open, he stepped onto the rooftop.  
Akira was sitting on one of the stray chairs, his legs up on the accompanying desk. He stared up at the darkening sky, looking at the few stars that were out. The hum of the city below them filled the silence. Ryuji let the door slam behind him.

“Hey man.” Ryuji’s voice was shaking ever so slightly as he said that. Akira looked up at him, his concentration broken. His eyes softened when he saw Ryuji and smiled softly.

“Hey Ryuji. What’s up?” Akira said quietly. Although he tried to hide it, he did look a little concerned. Ryuji leaned against one of the desks, his hands in his pockets. He knew for a fact that Futaba was listening intently, wherever she was.

“So, I, um, I-I called you up here because I-uh-I got somethin’ I gotta tell ya.” Ryuji cursed himself for stuttering so badly. Akira calmly folded his hands in his lap with a slightly amused smile.

“Alright, do tell. Is everything okay?”

Ryuji took a deep breath and looked at Akira.“Listen man, you’re my best friend and I’d do anything for you. And uhh...I’ve got something to tell ya.” Surprisingly, Akira got up and stood right next to Ryuji, whose eyes grew wide as he felt a hand on his back.

“It’s okay, Ryuji. You can tell me.” Akira’s voice was quiet and his gaze was soft and concerned. This didn’t help Ryuji who was blushing furiously.

“Uhh, okay.” Ryuji audibly swallowed. Even after months of fighting in the Metaverse, he couldn’t remember a time that he felt his heart racing this hard. He only hoped that Akira wasn’t able to tell. “Akira...I like you...like, more than a friend.” It felt as if the entire world ground to a halt. Akira remained as stoic as ever as he absorbed his friend’s words, his expression never changing. Finally, after a few seconds of agony, the world seemed to move too quickly as Ryuji felt himself get pulled into a hug. “Wha…?”  
Akira buried his head into Ryuji’s shoulder and held him tightly. Ryuji felt like he was going to die at any moment.

“I love you, Ryuji.” Akira’s voice was slightly muffled but his words rang in Ryuji’s ears.

“What did you say…?” The hug broke as Akira stepped back and looked into the other’s eyes.

“I said, ‘I love you, Ryuji.’”

“ _...for real???_ ” He nodded.

“I’ve wanted to tell you for...a pretty long time now, but I was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same way.” Akira smiled sweetly as he looked into the other’s eyes. Ryuji felt an unnatural amount of heat rise to his face. The silence was broken by Ryuji’s phone blowing up.

**Futaba:** AAAAAAAAAAA

**Futaba:** HOLY SHIIIIT

**Futaba:** jesus christ y’all are too damn cute i’m crying holy shit

He sighed before putting his phone back and looked up to Akira. He grinned, “I love you too, Akira I-I can’t believe...you...I thought you’d hate me...o-or that I’d ruin everything...” Ryuji felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. “I was just so scared to tell you.” His voice broke at his last word and Akira pulled him into another hug. This time, Ryuji wrapped his arms around Akira.

“It’s so weird...I was thinking the same thing. And I wanted to tell you for a long time, I’ve liked you from the moment we met. And you look really cute in your thief outfit,” Akira pulled back as he said that last part with a knowing smirk. Ryuji could his phone going off nearly every second, but he assumed Futaba could wait for one moment.

“You’re real cheesy, you know that, man?” Akira laughed at that. “But...do you mean that? That you love me?”

“Of course.”

“Then...will you be my boyfriend, Akira?”

~~~~~

Ryuji thought that the rest of the thieves had already gone home at that point, but was proved wrong when he reached the bottom of the stairs, holding Akira’s hand and feeling happier than he had for years. The two saw their friends sitting in a clumsy circle with Futaba’s phone in the middle. They all seemed extremely focused on whatever was playing from her phone, but he couldn’t really hear anything. All of the girls were sniffling like they had been crying and Ann wiped tears from her face, but she was smiling. Yusuke was looking quite pleased with himself.

“What are you guys doing?” Ryuji asked. However, he heard a replica of his voice coming from her phone. They all quickly turned towards the two, looking like deer in the headlights.

“Oh goodness!” Haru was the first one to jump up. “I wanted to check on my plants before going home, but I saw you two talking up there, and it seemed rather intimate, so I thought it best if I waited for you to be done.” Her eyes quickly darted at their conjoined hands, but quickly recovered, wearing a sweet smile to make them believe her story.

“Yep!” Ann exclaimed. “I saw Haru waiting all alone and thought she might want some company, so I waited with her.” Makoto jumped up too.

“Ah y-yes. The same could be said about the rest of us. We didn’t want Haru to get lonely while she waited.”

Yusuke piped up, “Actually, Futaba and I wanted to make sure things went smoothly between you two and the others caught wind of it and-”

“Shut it, Inari!” Futaba snapped and wiped more tears from her face.

Akira softly laughed, though his cheeks were slightly red in embarrassment. “Well, I’m glad you all enjoyed the show?” Makoto quickly shook her head.

“Not at all! We simply overheard!”

Yusuke smiled pleasantly, “It was incredibly touching, hearing you confess to one another. That right there is true romance...perhaps I should use it as inspiration for my next piece…”

Ann laughed. “I gotta admit...it was pretty cute. I may have teared up a bit.” She turned away, hoping for no one to see her wipe away a few stray tears.

“Well I’m just happy I got to say it…’cause I’ve wanted to for a while now.” Ryuji got a hug from his boyfriend for that and the entire group erupted in “awws”. The four girls looked to be on the verge of tears again and Yusuke framed them with his fingers while Morgana snickered quietly. As they broke apart, Ryuji spoke.

“Yusuke and Futaba? Uhh...thanks for your help, guys.” Yusuke nodded and Futaba snickered while more tears fell down her cheeks.

~~~~~

“Ahh! You made it!” Yusuke excitedly greeted them upon their entrance into the museum. It had been a few months since they started dating, and with Akira recently being released from jail, the two couldn’t be happier. But it came as a bit of a surprise when Yusuke invited them so suddenly out to an exhibition in which his art was to be displayed. He was quick to lead them over to where his painting was hanging. They were both awestruck when they saw it. It showed two boys hugging in front of their many friends, all of them cheering the couple on. The lighting and colors were beautiful, and the expressions on the two boys’ faces showed just how in love they were with each other. The couple grinned at each other, and Yusuke couldn’t help but admire how similar those expressions were to the ones in his painting.


End file.
